Cup first round

Minnows pray for plum tie with holders

Created on 05-06-2010 at 00:00 AM

Just three weeks after Bayern emphatically claimed the 2009-10 DFB Cup with a sparkling 4-0 victory over Werder Bremen in Berlin, the tournament is back on the holders’ radar this weekend with Saturday’s evening’s draw for the first round proper in the 2010-11 edition.

Bayern rate as the plum draw for the host of lower league clubs who have battled through to the first round from regional cup competitions. For the likes of Torgelower SV Greif, TSV Germania Windeck or Ankaraspor Berlin, a meeting with the fifteen-times winners promises not only a glamour tie but also a hefty payday, as the 32 teams from the lower reaches of the second division, the upper end of the third and the purely amateur clubs are all automatically drawn at home.

Each will play one of the top 32 clubs from the first and second divisions in one-off first round ties between 13 and 16 August, marking the official start of the 2010-11 season.